First Bite: Super Duper Burger

As should be obvious by the enthusiasm with which I threw myself into last summer's bonanza, I like a good burger every now and again. Within a short walk of my house in the lower Haight there is a Burger Joint, a Burger Meister and, as of late, the brand-spanking new Super Duper Burger. SDB opened earlier this month and is the latest project from Adriano Paganini (Beretta, Starbelly, Delarosa) and partners Deborah Blum (Beretta, Starbelly, Delarosa) Edmondo Sarti (Starbelly). Paganini is the founder and former CEO of Pasta Pomodoro, which formerly occupied the space where SDB now stands.

If pizza is the latest darling of the food world here in San Francisco, burgers are certainly not far behind. Aesthetically and practically speaking, Super Duper is like the love child of In-N-Out and the artist formerly known as Taylor's Refresher. In other words, it's pretty no-frills. A board mounted to the wall announces the limited menu—like In-N-Out, there are no onion rings. There are hamburgers and cheeseburgers and you can get doubles, and add bacon or try it with secret sauce, lettuce, tomatoes or onions, but SDB steers a pretty safe course through burger bay, adding only a chicken sandwich and a veggie burger (a fried portobella "patty"). The skinny patties are crafted from Niman Ranch beef, but they sure are skinny—I wouldn't have minded a bit more heft (and make your peace now with well-done, since that's the only way a patty that thin is going to come off the flat-top griddle). Fries are standard issue, frozen fries, which you can get plain or topped with freshly chopped garlic. There are housemade pickles at the condiment station—a nice touch, though the spears could stand a few more weeks in the brine.